General Panda 4x4 wheels appreciation

[euroben]

I have the original alloy wheels on my 2013 Panda 4x4 TA (15 inch) and I have just been washing the panda and had to stop and just appreciate how robust these wheels are. For a 11 year old car the alloy wheels are immaculate. Not a scuff, a chip, discolouration or any corrosion at all. Compare them to my 2012 Volvo XC70 and the alloy wheels are a disgrace. Really corroded and discoloured and look pretty awful. I live in rural Somerset, down a track and the roads around here are awful (akin to off-roading) and the car goes on and off road regularly and is my daily car. It’s done 98,000 miles.

Can’t say the rest of my car is corrosion free but Fiat sure did a good job on those wheels!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I also have a 2013 Panda 4x4 and a 2012 XC70, entirely coincidentally.

Both sets of wheels are pretty shocking

 

[euroben]

I also have a 2013 Panda 4x4 and a 2012 XC70, entirely coincidentally.

Both sets of wheels are pretty shocking

Maybe I have just been lucky with my Panda wheels. Believe me when I say I haven’t been lucky with anything else on that car (or the Volvo come to think of it)

 

[Panda IIs]

Maybe I have just been lucky with my Panda wheels. Believe me when I say I haven’t been lucky with anything else on that car (or the Volvo come to think of it)

But I suspect your Panda experience is simply due to neglect in its previous ownership(s). My TA 4x4 63 plate felt like a bit of a money pit for the first 18 months in my ownership but 5 or more years on now and I wouldn't have anything else in that category (a category which is pretty unique too).

 

[jrkitching]

Compare them to my 2012 Volvo XC70 and the alloy wheels are a disgrace

Buying a premium marque doesn't guarantee you'll get wheels that will last.

I have a friend who used to have a Mercedes CLK with lacquered diamond cut alloys; they had three complete sets changed under warranty before the car was five years old!

It didn't matter how much care you took of them, they started to peel after a couple of winters at most. The main dealership that sold the car said that almost all the 3yr old used ones in the showroom had the wheels removed and sent for blasting and powder coating before being put on sale.

 

[euroben]

But I suspect your Panda experience is simply due to neglect in its previous ownership(s). My TA 4x4 63 plate felt like a bit of a money pit for the first 18 months in my ownership but 5 or more years on now and I wouldn't have anything else in that category (a category which is pretty unique too).

Yes, you may be right. I have had to do the clutch and propshaft, tyres and brakes all at the same time. And every day there seems to be another thing to replace or repair. I do love it though even though it’s costing me a small fortune right now

 

[euroben]

Buying a premium marque doesn't guarantee you'll get wheels that will last.

I have a friend who used to have a Mercedes CLK with lacquered diamond cut alloys; they had three complete sets changed under warranty before the car was five years old!

It didn't matter how much care you took of them, they started to peel after a couple of winters at most. The main dealership that sold the car said that almost all the 3yr old used ones in the showroom had the wheels removed and sent for blasting and powder coating before being put on sale.

Yes my Volvo is lacquered diamond cut and they are just dreadful!

 

[The Panda Nut]

Yes my Volvo is lacquered diamond cut and they are just dreadful!

I think the act of diamond cutting leaves som very sharp edges which just wont accept paint unless hand finished at great cost. One of those things that is a good idea in theory and great to look at, but not as long lasting as one might hope.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

It interesting that in much of Europe the alloys (with many car brands, not just the Panda) are an option, with steel wheels as standard. It seems here in the U.K. we’re obsessed by alloys… (both my 4x4 Panda and 2013 Defender have alloys, but I’d happily have had less fragile steels given the choice)

The 4x4’s alloys have had a few chucks taken out of them by rock-strewn byways… but that doesn’t seem to lead to any of the rest of the lacquer failing, which is good.

Also, if any ‘traffic film remover’ (also found in some ‘snow foams’) has been used, that is Very Bad News for anything made with aluminium or its alloys. Destroys unprotected alloy wheels, and is bad news on ‘proper’ Land Rovers too, where it ‘eats’ many of the parts (mirror arms, the blocks under the windscreen, and any of the alloy bodywork if the paint’s been scratched away)… nasty stuff